Great Grandfather's US Stamp Collection

Dennisons

the 315 is indeed the kind of thing that is worth getting a cert for

don't try to remove the hinges on top of the Trans-Miss pairs until you get experience with hinges and if you do, start from the stamp side and work to the outside because if you start from the outside it could cause a tear

I won't remove anything for time being. I suppose if I get anything certified they will have to come off, so I'll either do it with someone experienced or practice with less expensive stamps

Familiarizing myself with Scott numbers is starting to make me bring up questions on some of the stamps I've looked over before.

This is what I originally thought was a Scott 64, but there are no perfs. It may be argued the horizontal perfs got trimmed, but there are some pretty wide margins on the vertical sides that seem too wide to claim those were trimmed. I was thinking it could be a proof, but it has a cancel on it. Overall it stands out.



A similar story happens on the right side of this likely Scott 68, which I nicknamed Abe Washington

The second stamp (68) is a good example of how the first stamp (#65 with trimmed margins) got created.
US Stamps were frequently printed in large sheets of 200-400 stamps and then cut down to normal size panes of 50-100 stamps before delivery to the post office and customers. Sometimes they weren't very careful in alignment when cutting down the panes and you get a part of the next pane, like on your #68. The vertical line in the right margin is the cutting line where the panes should have been separated, but they missed it by an eighth of an inch. We call that stamp a "straddle margin" copy. Normally one would just see a "straight edge" there, but sometimes as a bonus, depending on how bad the cut, you get a sliver of another stamp.
Your # 68 has nice wide (jumbo) margins on two other sides. Your #65 probably looked something like this before someone trimmed off the perforations to make it look imperforate. Rather common, unfortunately. A jumbo stamp (with all perforations still intact) is preferred by most collectors, though some will appreciate the "imperforate" as a novelty.

Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation!

In other words, some straight edges are "natural" as part of the normal manufacturing process (your 68), and some are trimmed fully or partly by the customer or later collector (your 65, and considered damaged).
*Note, ZebraMan and I are calling your 3 cent stamp a common #65, rather than a 64.

I figured about 65/64 number, I'm still getting adjusted to the very slight colors that separate stamps of the same print design. My catalog might come tomorrow so I'll start digging more seriously into the stamp ID'ing soon.

Hello Oiman, Congratulations on that tremendous inheritance that you acquired from your great grandfather. It is truly a treasure and looks in very good condition. As I mentioned before, there are a large number of duplicates which you could put up for sale and use the money to buy more and expand the collection. Congratulations and welcome to the forum.

I keep going back to the Washington coils just do to my incdredulity of how many different types exist. I got some tongs and a perf measuring device along with my catalog today, and poking around I see the smallest differences.

A few that I'm looking to get in person assistance/vertifying with determing to certify or not are a few Washington 2 cent coil stamps that are either Scott 449 or 550 if they have the watermark. Looking on the backside without removing the hinges did not immediately yield a visible watermark to my eyes, but the measurement of the stamp print lines up to the slightly larger rotary press rather than the flat press and the little lines lacking in the type I appear on the ones I suspect. If there are no watermarks then these are type II 487 or type III 488. Of course I could be completely off the mark too and it's some other washington, that's the fun with these stamps and figuring out the mystery !

Possible 449/487s are on the left and middle, and the possible 450/488 is on the right


This is a possible pair 450/488


This is a possible pair 449/487


Also, with my tongs I was checking out some of the grill stamps, and I think I found a Scott 123. The was no grill, the paper is quite thick and bright white, and the gum appears present as a yellow texture.

That might well be a 123, which is one of the more common of the re-issues. a nice thing to find. However those "combination pairs" are impossible, they were never issued that way. Whatever one is, the other is.

ah, I should rephrase what I said. When I say 449/450, I mean if I find a watermark and I am correct with the other identification marks of the type I Washington 2c, then I am referencing Scott 449. If the washington is a type III, then it's a 450. If there is no watermark found but the other traits of a rotary press 10 perf washington are correct, then it's a 487 OR 488. So with those vertical pairs they would both be either 449 or 450 (not one being 449 and the other 450). The same applies when I say 449/487 or 450/488 on the singles (it's one or the other)

If anyone happens to be in MA today, I'll be at the Spellman Postal Museum this afternoon with the album. I am going to be with one of the volunteers (Joseph Mullin) and my dad.

I was out of town for a few weeks and missed most of these posts. Fantastic collection and please keep them in the family. Keep us informed of your identification skills.

Updates will be coming as I go through stuff!

The visit to the Spellman Postal Museum was pretty nice. I became a member there in the process, and Joseph was very nice to talk to and discuss the collection. From our chatting and light checking of the stamps, and not withstanding an unexpected rarity, the rough order of magnitude of the collection's catalog value was around what I was starting to form in my head while understanding that realistically the sell price is somewhere between 10-33%. It was enough for me to know what potential insurance to consider going forward, and I have a few avenues to consider in order to fill in some of the missing stamps.

The early stamps I think I have a good idea on what they can be worth, but if I seriously have the collection appraised then I'll need a Washinton/Franklin expert for the multitude of variants when involving watermarks, print style, and perf styles. There's a few stamps that look very close to some rare ones, and I have already tossed out a few as not being rare/expensive variants, but there are still a few that I don't have enough confidence to rule out. Worst case I send them in for certification for the minimum cost per stamp.

There's also some upcoming New England stamp events that we talked about along with some reputable dealers if I wanted second opinions on valuation. You might be seeing me in Hartford in August!